


Alone in the dark

by HikariYumi



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Incredible Hulk - All Media Types
Genre: Birthdays, Bruces exil, Cake, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Tony won't let him alone, past AoU, sleeping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-29 08:27:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7677268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HikariYumi/pseuds/HikariYumi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Bruce's birthday. He didn't plan to celebrate, he didn't want to draw attention at himself, he wanted to hide after the catastrophe with Ultron. Tony has other plans, though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Alone in the dark

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Majinie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Majinie/gifts).



> Hello ^~^  
> This is a birthday fic for my muse and beta Majinie.  
> (Meaning this isn't beta'd and I'm no native speaker. Hope you don't mind my mistakes and if you like feel free to point them out for me, so I can avoid them next time.)  
> When I had this idea, it was planned as a mini ficlett without Tony appearing, so just with sad Bruce. While writing that somehow turned around on its own and well, who am I to go against Tony? I just couldn't delete him again.  
> And maybe it's a nicer present this way?  
> All in all, thanks for your interest and a very happy and special birthday to Majinie! May your next year be even happier and more creative than your last one!  
> ~Hikari

Absently Bruce Banner brushed over the slightly dusty surface of his kitchen counter. It had been a while since he had been eating here, the last weeks he had mostly eaten out between visiting patients. He didn't really care, he never tended people in here anyway and used the small cabin only to sleep every once in a while.

Slowly he put the piece of cake down, looking at it thoughtfully. The little Laura from down the street had had birthday the day before and insisted that he would take a slice of her birthday cake with him.  
Laura was a cute thing of nine years and had suffered from a severe cold the week before and Bruce had come to check on her.  
Now he stood here in his place, he couldn't bring himself to call it "home", staring down at the plate. 

It was the 18th of December, even on the Fijis the shops were selling Christmas supplies and some of his neighbours had even decorated their houses with blinking lights. Bruce hadn't done anything, neither for the holiday nor for his own birthday that would have been today.  
He didn't saw the reason, he was alone anyways, no need to celebrate. And so he was able to care for the sick when nobody else was available, because they were visiting their families and friends.  
This day was a day like every other this week. If it wasn't for Laura he wouldn't have even bothered with a cake.

Somehow it reminded Bruce of the past, the time before the Avengers, the days on the run. He hadn't had celebrated his birthday then. He'd never been that keen on celebrating and inviting people. Prior it had been Betty who insisted to do something at this day, going out together for example.  
'Nobody should be alone on his birthday, everyone should have someone who remembers.'

And then, afterwards, Bruce had actually found himself missing this private celebration. The first year he couldn't help but let out a few tears when he sat alone in his hiding place, without another person who even knew his name.  
But that was just a matter of habit, in the years after, that feeling had lessened and it would be the same now, Bruce was certain.

Sighing he turned around to fetch himself some water, not really hungry at the moment. So instead Bruce decided to call it a day and get some sleep.  
Even if it was only well past noon, he didn't really care. As a doctor he never knew when someone would appear at his doorstep seeking help or advice, it was the best to nap when the opportunity arrived.

When an insiting knock on his door rose him, everything around Bruce was dark. It had to be late then, but for once the man was half-well rested.  
"Yes, one minute please.", he called, hastily climbing of the mattress, feeling for his discarded glasses.  
While hurrying the few steps to the entrance, Bruce tried to fix his appearance a bit. He knew he still looked horrible, his brief nap wouldn't have done much for the dark circles under his eyes, and his clothes were past wrinkled right now. Most time the people weren't put off by that, as long as he came to help them.

"How can I help-" Bruce stopped mid-sentence, when he recognised the person on his doorstep. For a moment, the man blinked irritated, trying to figure out if his sleep-muddled brain was failing him, but when nothing changed, Bruce assumed that this wasn't the case.

"What are you doing here?" That sounded harder than intended, the physicist scolded himself, but to his credit, he was surprised as well as a bit shocked.  
"Well, that's a hell of a nice greeting.", Tony quipped, leaning openly relaxed against the wall. "Not happy to see me?"

Bruce swallowed, suddenly nervous, took a few steps back to let his guest in. The second thing more out of habit than actual happiness.  
"Tony, what are you doing here? No one should know where I am! Not after-." He stopped again, feeling how every core inside him changed into alertness.  
That wasn't good, it was even the opposite of good.

"Calm down, Brucie. No need to worry. Came here without the others knowing, or even anyone knowing."  
Tony didn't look much different than when they'd battled Ultron. Maybe he looked a bit older, more tired, just like Bruce himself. 

"I'm not even surprised you knew where I am, but why did you come when you so obviously knew, that it's dangerous?"  
The engineer closed the door behind himself before stepping closer to Bruce and wrapping him into a tight embrace. "Silly thing, I wanted to see if you're alright. I knew you were, but I wanted to make see for myself." Tony drew back, inspecting his friends face closely. "And you didn't think I would have forgotten my favourite science bros' birthday, did you?"

Bruce noticed how the engineers eyes found the lonely piece of cake on the table. "Well, apparently you've forgotten it yourself."  
Snorting he shook his head. "I haven't forgot, it just isn't important. And you really shouldn't have come."

"Yes, I should have.", Tony insisted, making himself room on the simple kitchen chair. "No one should be alone on his birthday, especially not if it doesn't have to be."  
The chestnut brown eyes smiled up at Bruce, looking painfully alike the uncountable times in the lab. "Plus I've got an awesome excuse to see you again."

Taking a deep breath to hide that he had no idea what to say, Bruce stared back.  
How often had he secretly imagined how it would be, if someone of the team would come to visit. This fantasy, he had to admit, had kept the man going on dark and lonely days. Sometimes he would even invoke his friends' faces as comfort to help falling asleep.  
But despite this, right now he had no clue how to react.

"Cake?", he offered weakly, gesturing to said pastry. But unsurprisingly Tony declined. "I came for you, not for cake. Well, and you look like you're the one in desperate need of sugar."  
Even though the tone was joking, Bruce was aware of the honest worry.  
"Don't take it personally, Brucie, but you look worse than when we first met. Really, you can't take care of yourself, can you?"

"Oh look who's talking.", Bruce murmured but without real heat in it. In those few minutes Tony had managed to chase away the bad feelings in his stomach and made him feel better than in the last weeks.  
"Oh shut up. You've got coffee here?"

Silence settled upon the two scientists, Tony with his coffee and Bruce picked reluctantly at his cake. "How long are you staying?"  
The engineer looked up, smiling his familiar smile. "As long as you need me to."  
Bruce frowned and opened his mouth to object. "And don't shit me with the whole 'I'm fine' bullshit, I know that too well, you're not fooling me."

That should upset Bruce, being talked to like that, but it was quite the opposite, it was nice. To be around someone who knew him enough to be able to tell when he wasn't alright and to not let it go.  
"Okay. But are you sure it's alright if you stay? What is with Pepper and Stark Industires?"

Tony's face went dark for a moment before he got a grip on that. "Don't worry about that, it's fine. So birthday boy, what do you wanna do? The night is still young."  
Bruce hesitated, he really didn't want to spend the night in a bar, he was still too exhausted for that. But how should he explain that to the engineer? And a big part of Bruce wanted to use the time with Tony as well as possible. Because he wouldn't have him here for long.

In the end the engineer managed to find out what was going on, without that Bruce had to break the topic to him. Tony was a very perceptive man, even if lots of people didn't give him credit for that. "Oh, I've got an idea, what do you think about a relaxed evening? Just sitting together talking? Had been a while since we last hat time for that."

"Yeah, sounds good."  
Satisfied the engineer downed his coffee and took a look around the small cabin. "Hope you don't mind if we take the bed? Journey had been too long as if I would be able to sit on this chair too long." 'And you look as you would be more comfortable there, too' stood silently in the room.  
Bruce just went along with it, sheepishly trying to straightened the blanket that was still crumpled from his earlier nap.

A few minutes later the physicist found himself leaning against a cushion, listening to his best friends stories about what had happened in New York, only absently noticing that Peppers name wasn't said once. 

The next thing he heard was a hushed "Happy birthday, Bruce. See you tomorrow", as well as a warm hand brushing along his cheek. Then the man snuggled deeper into the cushion falling asleep again, calm in the knowledge he would have enough time with Tony the next day.


End file.
